The Provinces of Davao and the City are located in the southern second largest island of the Philippines.The island is Mindanao, and the City is the larget City in the world. This is the setting of our stories with the PME Fathers among the early seminarians and priests of the Saint Francis Xavier Seminary.
Before World War 2 and about 15 years after, the three provinces of Davao, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, and Davao Oriental, remained one political provincial unit, governed by one Governor. They comprised also one Diocese, run by one Diocesan Bishop, initiated by the PME Fathers. In the early years of the seminary, there was only one political Province and one Diocese. This was until the three provincial and diocesan divisions in the sixties.
There were mostly various tribal human beings around the islands with some differing dialects and religious beliefs and rituals
March 16, 1521:
This was discovery of the islands by F Magellan and the start of colonization, Filipinization and Christianization. Gradually, the various tribes of the island began to gain a new identity as one colony of Spain (1521-1899), one new identity struggling for independence and new status as a nation under a new international laws of emerging powerful nations (Spain, France, Germany,England, USA), and finally as an independent Country in 1946.
During Spanish times: (1521-1899)
Most of Luzon and the Visayas Islands were Christianized as Catholics. Mindanao remained tribal with growing conversion to Islam, and the growth of the muslim communities along the southerns seashores and islands of Mindanao. The Christians in Luzon and Visayas remain tribal with regionalistic identities, having its own dialect, as the Tagalogs, Ilocanos, Kapangpangan, Ilonggos, Cebuanos, Boholanos, Waray etc., varying cultural and lingual differences. They gradually felt one identity as Christians and Catholics under the Spanish Friars. However, they lived to maintain their differences. The elders tried to prevent inter-marriages, a phenomenon they could hardly prevent in today's more educated Filipinos. Spanish words came to be accepted into the dialects to start some common vocabulary among the languages.
But the Spanish language was not propagated the way this happened in the Americas. There were almost no schools except in some Spanish centers in Manila and Cebu. However, Catholic churches and convents of some pioneering religious congragations started to grow in the Visayas and Luzon with the Agustinians, Jesuits, Franciscans,and Dominicans. At these times, at the turn of the 20th century, there were only few Parishes in Mindanao, conducted by the Recollects, mainly in Zamboanga, Cagayan, Davao, and Caraga. The Jesuit missionaries were evangelizing the tribal Filipinos in these places. In Davao there were only a number of Christian Filipinos from Luzon and the Visayas.
The Americanization of the Islands (1900-1946):
The Americans put many schools around the new Philippines, and introduced and taught the English language. This process initiated to make all regionalistic Filipinos to feel as one nation with one common medium of communication. It is with this medium of communication that the Philippines become the largest English speaking country in Asia today. It is in this medium that the Filipinos of today attempt to gain one Filipino identity as they struggle to accept internally the Tagalog dialect as the Filipino language. This happening in Filipino dialects and language must be understood as a unique development. For the language and identity continuum cannot be compared to that of Japan which grows with one common language at the start.
The Americans brought also with them Protestantism as they brought in their teachers. In these years, so many Filipinos went to schools and became educated based on the American Educational Systems and protocol. The Americans brought in their technology in Agriculture and businesses and started exploiting the natural resources of the Philippines. They developed the coconuts, sugar, abaca. They opened a new concept of private properties and land ownership, a system which also displaced many tribal Filipinos in years specially in Mindanao.
In Davao, Christian migrants from the Visayas and Luzon started to come to work in Japanese and American plantations.
In 1937, the PME Fathers came with only four parishes to start with in Davao City, Cateel, Caraga, and Baganga. Click and see The PME Stories
Mode of transportations were mainly ships, boats, and horses, and the horse-drawn Carts called the "Calesa". Roads were narrow and all dirt roads.
1941-1945:
World War 2 and the Japanese ocupation of the Philippines.
July 4, 1946:
Granting of the Philippine Independence by the Americans.
1946 to the fifties:
The Catholic Church of Davao became independent from the Diocese of Zamboanga when it was propclaimed prelature Nullius in 1949. Frb. C Thibault became the Administrator and Prelate Ordinary. He was ordained Bishop in February of 1955.
Migrants from the Visayas and Luzon continued to come as the government granted lands to small farmers.
The tribal Filipinos are initiated to the concept of private properties and titles. They started to sell lands and gradually became displaced.
Coconut plantations, corn, rice, fishing were the main life activities.
Towns started to mushroomed in all the three Divisions of Davao.Most of the government leaders were migrants from Luzon and the Visayas.
The PME Fathers facilitated the building of schools and introduction of Catholic educations in all towns.Government schools were also constructed.Most of the teachers were migrants.
Davao started to be a melting pot of tribal and regionalistic Filipinos. Migrant Parents worked very hard with a priority to give their children education and college education.Twenty laters after Independence, Davao started to have its own professionals in law, medicine, engineering, education, etc. Main colleges were Ateneo College, Holy Cross College, Immaculate Conception College, University of Mindanao, Philippine Women's College. In the sexties, Davao could produce already its own professionals. These would the leaders in the eighties and the nineties and on. Click and see Development of Catholic Education in Davao.
The medium of instructions was English. The singing of the national anthem and the military marching drills were in English. The pupils sang English and American folk songs and Christmas songs.Click this to understand the development of English and the National Language Pilipino and English written by Jude Agana.
Modes of transportation were ships, boats, turbo-propelled airplanes, big American cars, jeepneys, busses, horse-drawn calesas, motorcycles, bicycle, horses.
The first cementing of road in Davao was in the Digos-Bansalan highway in the mid-fifties.
The PME Fathers constructed the Saint Francis Minor Seminary in 1955 and was opened in 1956.
Big regional events were the Diocesan Meet where all Catholic Schools vied in sports and academics and knew one another. The Altar-Boys Convention at the Seminary was also done in the late fifties. The Public Inter Regional Sport Copmpetitions were also done.
In the mid-fifties, Davao was cosmopolitan and could see and hear what were happening through out the world specially United States in Arts, Music, Songs, fashions, etc. Radios and Phonographs became popular and affordable. Televions were still luxuries.
The denudation of forests by migrant farmers, cutting and burning tress to plant corn and vegetables,"Kaingeros", and by the growing logging industry for Japan Market. Fifiteen years later, almost all the forests in Mindanao were exploited, causing unpredictable weather conditions and floodings.
Telephones were being installed for faster and more modern communications.
The Sixties
Davao became a full-pledged Diocese in 1966 with Monsignor Thibault as the first Residential Bishop of Davao.
More towns and parishes and schools were opened by The Catholic Church and other religious sects and by the government.
English remained the medium of instruction. The Tagalog dialect was enforced aggressively to be a national language. In the Colleges, students were still to taake 24 units of Spanish; this would reduced to twelve in the seventies and completely removed later. Inthe Catholic Colleges, students had to study 24 units of Philosophy. These would later reduced to twelve in the seventies.
The Saint Francis Xavier Regional Seminary was opened in 1964.
Davao highways would be slowly cemented.
Jet planes (BAC-11) were introduced was by Philippine Airlines and cut travel time by half.
Cheaper Japanese cars started to replace the big American Cars.
The healing of war hurt-feelings among the Filipinos against Japanese started to happen.
The Vietnam War and Communistic idealogies started to disturb in the school campuses creating the radical student activism in the late sixties and the seventies, leading to the organization of the National People's Army (NPA),leading to the declaration of Martial Law in 1971, just some twenty years after the Independence from United States.
The horse-drawn calesas were gradually replaced by the motor-tricycles, which still thrive in many towns up today.
This was the decade of the Beatles and the mini-skirts. Stereophonic sounds, and white-color televisions started to be popular.
The Universtiy of Mindanao (UM) had the tallest building (5-story building) and the first elevator in the city. The city also saw the use of big computer machines by the University of Mindanao and Alson Company (Alcantara group of companies). Davao started to take interest in computer science.
Landing of the first man into the moon.
The Seventies
In 1970, Davao became an Archdiocese with Monsignor C Thibault as the first Archbishop, and Msgr. Antonio mabutas as the first co-adjutor bishop. Msgr. Antonio Mabutas became the second Archbishop when Msg. C Thibault resigned in 1972. The Provinces of Davao have grown very fast.
The growth of radical student activisms and dissents in the Catholic Church started to rock the nation. President F Marcos declared Martial Law with the best of intentions as a public service. The thirst of power led to the abuses of the Marcoses and more corruptions, leading to disrespect of the policeman and the the army by the populace. Marcos would be dethroned in 1986. Click this for A glimpse of the dreamers of the seventies
The PME fathers started turning responsibilities of the Diocese to the Diocesan Clergy, and started to reduce their number of misionaries to Davao..
More cement roads in Davao and Mindanao.
Davao remained very agriculture. Industries and factories were mainly the Cement Factory (Bacnotan), Textile factories in Toril, and Plywood Industry. Davao del Norte and Davao del Sur came to be the main banana planations by Multinational Companies of Dole, Chiquita, Del Monte, and Sumitomo for the export markets.
Most business calculations were done my mechanical calculators. The electric calculators were luxuries until towards the end of the seventies.
The tallest building became Maguindanao Hotel replacing the University of Mindanao.
Colored televisions started to be popular.
The Eighties
More schools and universities were introduced.
The peso deteriorated so much in 1983 with the murder of Ninoy Aquino. The death of Aquino facilitated the Edsa Revolution in 1986.
Davao continued to grow.
The use of computers started to be popular among companies and the universties. The electronic calculators became cheaper and more popular.
The 1986 Edsa revolution and the return of democracy.
The introduction of Total Quality Management (TQM) in the big businesses of the country, revolutionizing competitive approaches based on focusing to the needs of the customers, on continuous process improvement and employee empowerment.
Metrobank along Uyanguren street became the tallest building, replacing Maguindanao Hotel.
The video cameras became popular.
The Nineties
In the first half of the decade saw constructions of larger roads of the city, and more inflow of new Japanese and Korean cars, replacing old cars.
Towards the middle of the decade saw the construction of the big malls like the Victoria Plaza. Mid-nineties saw more constructions of larger malls like the Gaisanos, and taller hotel buildings like Mercure Hotel, the Price building, and the present tallest building Marco Polo Hotel (20-story building).
In the second half of the decade saw the popular usage of cellphones and Internet. At the turn of the new millenium Davaoneos use cellphones and the Internet. Internet Cafes mushroomed around the cities, bringing Davao closer to any part of the world of computers.
Know Davao:Surf links below
